Looking Into Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a brain disorder that causes an individual to have repeated convulsions and affect one’s ability to complete physical and mental functions. It is a condition that affects almost two and a half million Americans and fifty million people around the world. Epilepsy is also referred to as seizure disorder. This disorder is the third most common disorder in the United States followed by strokes and Alzheimer’s disease. Even though it is a common condition, it is one of the least understood medical issues. One of the characteristics of epilepsy is having seizures. Seizures are experiences of obstructed brain activity that leads to a change in behavior. Epilepsy is normally recognized after an individual has had a minimum of two seizures that were not related to any known medical condition. Epileptic seizures can be caused due to a brain injury or family genetic trait; however, the cause generally tends to be unknown. While research continues to be done on this disorder, there are different types of treatment to help epileptics live regular lives. (www.Epilepsyfoundation.org)
Seizures are one of the most common symptoms of epilepsy. A seizure is generally defined as “ a sudden alteration of behavior due to a temporary change in the electrical functioning of the brain, in particular, the outside rim of the brain called the cortex (www. Epilepsy.com). ” Everyone experiences seizures in different ways. There are typically three parts to a seizure: a beginning, middle and end. In the beginning, when the epileptic individual is aware that it is the beginning of a seizure, it is known as a warning, sometimes one may not be aware of the beginning of their seizure. The middle of the seizure may come in different forms. For those who have warnings, their warnings can possibly turn into a convulsion or a partial seizure. If someone does not have a warning, the seizure might just continue as a partial seizure or progress into a convulsion. The conclusion of a seizure is the transformation from the seizure to the individual’s regular state of mind. This time is known as the “post-ictal period” and is the time it takes for the brain to recover from the seizure; it may take a few seconds to a few hours, depending on the seizure and what parts of the brain were affected. Epilepsy happens when there is a lasting change in the neurological tissue, which causes the brain to be jumpy. This leads to the brain sending out irregular messages to the body, which results in erratic and unforeseeable seizures. There is no exact answer to what causes epilepsy. This medical condition can’t be passed down and inherited through family members. However, someone who has a relative who is epileptic has a somewhat higher chance of becoming epileptic than someone who does not have any epileptic family members. This disorder could be caused by a medical condition of any type or an injury that affects one’s brain; sometimes the cause is just uncertain. Potential causes for epileptic newborns could be anoxia, chemical disorders, and maternal substance use. Possible causes for children, teenagers, and adults could be genetic components, brain disease, cognitive disabilities and head trauma. Epileptic senior citizens can possibly become epileptic due to having a stroke, having Alzheimer’s disease, or also, head trauma. While there can be many different roots to epilepsy, the clear causes is still being researched. (www.Epilepsy.com ) There are many early symptoms/warnings of a seizure some are sensory, psychological, and physical. Some sensory symptoms that one may encounter are déjà vu, visual loss and tingling feelings. Fear and anxiety are common emotional symptoms, while headaches, dizziness and nausea are a few physical symptoms. Sometimes, however, seizures have no warning signs. Symptoms of seizures may be broken down into the same categories as early seizure symptoms. Black outs, spacing out, out of body experience and